The Wilmingtonian., 1887-05-14
A PIagiarist Shown Up.

A very interesting depression from the
usual literary production is Henry d. Har-
ruwer's monograph Captain Glazer and
His Lake,
The book is unusually inteIC sting as being
revelation Of the most astounding piece of
literary theft on record in our American
literature. Mr.. Narrower, in giving the
public this essay has placed American au-
thors under an everlasting debt of gratitude
for SO completely showing up the vastest,
most audacious instance of thieving perpe-
trated in this and perhaps any land.
Captain Willard Glazier is the individual
impaled SO successfully here. He will be
recognized as the author of several vulgarly
gotten up brochures Of war "reminiscences,
in each of which the name and por rait Of
the author appear in the frontispiecc.
Mr.. Glazer claims also to have made a
canoe trip from the head-waters of the Mis-.
sssippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
'It is in this connection" ss Mr.. Har-
rover says, "that Captain Glazier claims to
have carved his name on the very cap-stone
of American geographical research.
He tells us that while crossing the conti-
nent on horseback in 1876 he came to the
Mississippi River, and musing on that
mighty stream and the uncertainty that ex.
isted as to its true source he concluded that
there was yet rich field for exploration in
the wids of Minnesota. Thele is no evi-
dence that Captain Glazier made any effort
to inform himself as to what was already
known about the sources Of the river. He
certainly took no account Of the data in
possession of tie Government Lard Depart.
ment, and generally he proceeded upon the
theory that everybody was as ignorant as he
in regard to the matter.
| Accordingly, as Mr.. Harrower's book
says, Gazer started out in May, 1881, OF
his proposed discovery Of the source of the
Mississippi
Captain Glszier wrote an account of hii
claimed discoveries, and as while he madt
no use, as above stated, uf the Government
Land Department data, he did make mos
extensive use Of the data of Jean N. Nicclet
the French explorer of 1886, and of School
crafts aud Morrison's discoveries of thirt,
and fifty years ago, respectively.
MIR. Narrower does American geographers
writers and explorers inestimable good By
showing up the balefaced theits, stolen b.
whole paragraphs, if not chapters, from th,
extdnt records of the last mentioned hon
ored names Of early American exploration
This contemplate thief has been eXposet
in the pamphlet referred to by the excelen
plan of afFjrding parallel passages. by thi
the gross impudence of the coutemptibl
theft may be seen at glance.
What is amusing about the whole matte
is that Glazier who is almost absolutely ig
norant in scientific sense, had the audacit
to use NicUlleU's astronomical and topc
graphical notes changing them at one Q
two points sufficiently to place the unscier
tific aud iguorant passage, SO mailing TIL
facts of ignorance and theft at one and til
same moment. To add to the transcender
impudence OF his record he had tle hard
hood to send these wholesale thefts of tex
tables aud maps, as results of original il
vestigation made by him to European Ge
graphical Societies with the old names
the lake sources changed from those give
of tie time-honoIed ones of NicUlet an
ScAOolcraft to his own obscure patro1ymt
thus Glazier Lake instead of Lake Itasc
which was given by Schoolcraft from Il
words rerITAs cAput, the small capitals 81 oy
ing the name ltasca.